The way you look at me
by The Man of Destiny
Summary: AU and a bit OOC. I made a little age adjustment as well. Athrun is 21 years old, Kira is 20 while Cagali is only 18. Athrun gets invited to Cagali's 18th birthday party. Athrun expects the party to be a normal one but everything changed once he sees the blonde haired woman's transformation. AthrunXCagali. Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Seed Destiny
1. Chapter 1- You're invited

A/N: Hi guys, The Man of Destiny here. Not only am I a StellarXShinn fanatic but I'm also an avid AthrunXCagali supporter as well. This first part of the story is actually part-true. We can say that this part is based on my experience. Please read and Review. Thanks so much! 

Chapter I: You're invited

"Riiiiiiiiiiiiing" a sound of an alarm clock was heard as I woke up for starters, noticing that it was already 8:30 on a Monday morning, I suddenly remembered that I have work at 10. "Better get goin', I don't wanna be late." I told myself. Before grabbing my towel, I opened up my Facebook account on my computer; I noticed that I was messaged by two people. I opened my inbox, and found out that the two people who sent me an offline message were actually Kira Yamato and Cagali Yula Athha. I opened Kira's message first because as far as I can remember, he actually isn't my friend at Facebook, we meet a couple of times every once in a while at church, but besides that, we aren't really that much close at all. "Hi bro, you and my sister Cagali are close friends right? I actually want to invite you to her 18th birthday party, I want to add you to her 18 roses because you know, and you two are close and all that. So, what do you say?" Kira's message stated. Then I read Cagali's message next. "Hey, are you free on Saturday this week? It's actually going to be my 18th birthday celebration; it's going to be held at my house at 7pm. Wanna join? :D" .

Ugh. Wait, before I continue my story, let me introduce myself. The name's Athrun Zala, 21 years of age, I already graduated from college and I currently work at a Call Center. If you're wondering what I look like, I actually have blue hair and emerald green eyes. I like reading comics, A LOT. I'm your nerd next door, ask me about Superheroes, I give you answers, ask me about wrestlers, I give you answers. I'm also a gamer, I'm currently playing a game called "Dynasty Warriors: Gundam 3". Oh no. I'm starting to get out of topic again. Anyways, Kira and Cagali are actually siblings. (You don't say?). I've been friends with Cagali for a while though. I've also met her at church. She has short blonde hair and chestnut brown eyes. She actually has a tomboyish personality. She dresses like a boy most of the time, she also acts like one as well. I remember the time when we actually met for the first time.

She was a new member of our Security Department at church, and she was as quiet as a mouse, she just smiles at everyone who greets her. One day, while waiting for my other teammates, we were left alone, I talked to her, and found out that she wasn't a very quiet person after all, she always laughed at my jokes, she listened to my stories, and from there we became friends. She had that innocent child-like smile that lightens up everyone's day for some unknown reason.

So anyways, I was invited to her birthday. When that day finally came, I prepared myself and made sure that I looked my best. I wore a long sleeved black polo and white pants as well as brown shoes. When I arrived at the venue of Cagali's birthday, a man with brown hair and purple eyes welcomed me. It was Kira. He shook my hand and said. "Hey bro, welcome, and thanks for coming to my sister's birthday". I smiled at him and replied: "No problem, thank you for inviting me as well, by the way, where is the debutant anyways?" "She's still getting dressed up." Kira then accompanied me inside a huge room where the celebration was held. It was a simple celebration, ten round tables were placed with a total of five chairs each table, there were a lot of people who were already there, and I'm not actually not that familiar with them, most of them are Kira and Cagali's relatives and classmates. Red balloons can be found on the ceiling of the room, and there was a stage in front of the room with a Royal-Themed Sofa placed on it. A medium sized square table was also there, it had a blue colored cake with 18 candles on it. The cake was surrounded by a bunch of blue cupcakes with small pictures of Cagali placed on each cupcake.

A few minutes passed and the program finally started, a man named Kenneth hosted the program. After doing the introductions, he finally called the birthday celebrant. "And without further a due, let me introduce to you the lady of the hour, once a beautiful baby girl, now a beautiful young lady. Ladies and gentlemen, let me present to you, the beautiful Red Rose, Miss Cagali Yula Athha."

Cagali then went out of her dressing room; now let me tell you something before I continue. I've been to a lot of 18th birthday celebrations and I'm going to be honest, I haven't seen any total transformation for each and every one of them. But the moment I saw this blonde haired girl, I mean woman, I was shocked in awe. The tomboyish baby girl is now a stunning young lady. Her hair was tied in a simple ponytail; she didn't have that much makeup. She was wearing a long red gown which made her look like a red rose. I said to myself: "She's beautiful". All eyes were fixed on her as everyone was surprised by the way she looked. Kira accompanied her in front of the stage and everyone clapped their hands for the birthday celebrant.

As the whole program progressed, I can't help but fix my eyes on Cagali. She's so beautiful. No I'm not exaggerating. When she looked at me and gave me a smile, I can't help but smile back and blush a little. Her beautiful smile got me there. No doubt about it.

"And may we call on the men who are close to our birthday girl. Cagali's 18 protectors. Her 18 roses." The host announced. A group of men were announced one by one as they danced with Cagali. A lot of them were actually Kira's friends. "And now for the 10th rose, may we call on Mr. Athrun Zala" it was my turn; I quickly fixed my polo, grabbed a red rose, and went to the stage to dance Cagali. A minus one version of the song "A thousand years" was being played. I gave her the rose I was holding as I held her hands and her waist. She in turn held my shoulder. We danced as the music played. I was silent for a few seconds as I was looking at her beautiful face and bright chestnut brown eyes and I can feel the warmth of her soft hands. "Athrun? Athrun? Hello? Earth to Athrun?" Cagali stated as she was shaking me while we were dancing. "Oh. Sorry about that, I can't help but uh… Anyways, you look beautiful tonight" I smiled. "Uhm… Thanks" Cagali replied with a blush on her face. "Why is your face turning red as your dress?" I joked. "I'm just not used to other boys telling me that I'm beautiful. Well, except for Kira of course. You're actually the first guy to tell me that. Uhm. Thanks" She replied as her face started to get redder than her dress. "Oh. Uh... thanks. I was just being honest. That's all." I replied with a shy tone. "Ha! Your face is red!" Cagali giggled softly as I didn't notice myself that my face was getting a shade of crimson as well. "Tomato head" she added as she blurted out her tongue to tease me. "Ha Ha Ha. Very funny" I jokingly replied. "Anyways, thanks for coming to my birthday. I really appreciate it." "No problem. I…" I was interrupted when the host then called the next person to dance Cagali.

What on earth am I feeling? I feel like my heartbeat is like a speed of a running horse. I haven't felt like this in a while. The way she smiles, the way she speaks, and the way she looks at me. It all feels fuzzy and warm inside for some reason. I… I can't believe I'm saying this. But I feel like I'm in love. In love with a woman named Cagali Yula Athha.


	2. Chapter 2-New Neighbors

A/N: Hi Guys, I'm back with the second chapter of "The way you look at me". Hope you guys continue reading and reviewing my Story! By the way, if you're a ShinnXStellar fanatic, please take the time to read my other story named: "The meaning of tomorrow". Thanks!

Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Seed or any contents used in this story.

I found myself in the same room, the room where Cagali celebrated her birthday. This time there were no other people around, just me, and a certain woman who looked like Cagali herself. She waved at me. "Athrun, come here, let's dance!" She stated. I then approached her. I grabbed her hand and her waist while she grabbed my shoulder. The song "The way you look at me" started to play and we started to dance. We were just staring at each other. I can see her beautiful brown eyes twinkle like the stars of the sky. She was smiling like she's having the best time of her life. As we were dancing through the song, Cagali did something that would shock me, she hugged me. We stopped dancing but the music was still playing. I was caressing her short blonde hair as her head was buried in my chest. She then let go and held my hand and whispered something, it was so soft I can't hear it. After talking, she slowly leaned her head in, her lips almost touching mine. As we were about to kiss, I saw another figure behind her, it was Kira, and He was muttering my name, the only difference was it was not him talking, it sounded like someone else, like a girl. She was screaming my name, and the way she was screaming my name was not compatible with Kira's muttering. All of the sudden I stared shaking for some reason.

It was all just a dream, when I finally came to my senses, I opened my eyes for starters, and the yelling became more louder, it was my mom waking me up, she then entered my room. "Athrun Zala, it's 8:45 in the morning and you're still not set for work, what the heck is wrong with you?" my mom kept explaining me that I'm going to be late and whatnot, the others sounded like plain blahs to me. She actually didn't realize that It's a Saturday meaning that I don't have work. While she was explaining and nagging, I saw a figure of a woman walking past my room. "Mom, calm down, you do realize it's a Saturday right?" I replied. "It is?" my mom stated in a confused tone. "What date is it?" She added. "It's the Eighth of August, 2015" I replied with a smile on my face. "Oh. I'm so sorry son. I..." I interrupted my mom as I asked: "Ugh... mom, who's that girl?" I stated as I was pointing at the girl who looks like she's waiting for my mom. "Oh. That's Cagali, she's our new neighbor. She's actually with a guy which apparently was her brother. I forgot the guy's name. it was..." I interrupted her again by pronouncing the name of the brother of the blonde haired woman. "Kira." "Yeah, that's right, Kira. Anyways, go ahead and fix yourself, Cagali needs a hand in something, it's a good thing that you don't have work." my mom smiled as she left and closed the door.

Great. First I had this weird dream of dancing with Cagali, and now she's my neighbor? how can destiny be more playful. While I was changing, I heard someone knock at my door. "Athrun?" a girl's familiar voice stated. That familiar voice was Cagali's. As I heard her speak, my heart felt like it was doing a 720 degree somersault. I quickly got dressed up and opened the door. It was Cagali, no doubt about it. She was wearing a Scarlet V-neck shirt with sleeves just a little bit below her shoulders. She was also wearing skinny jeans and slippers. "Good morning!" She stated with a smile on her beautiful face. "Hi, since when did you guys started living here?" I asked her. "We just recently moved today, our parents are actually on their way abroad to work, they left immediately after my birthday celebration." She replied, her smile slowly turning into a frown. I immediately saw myself in Cagali, we were the same in a certain way. Her parents are working abroad, my dad was working outside of the country as well. "Hey, why the long face? come on Cagali, cheer up! you'll look less beautiful when you're crying you know!" Wait. did I just say that? Gee, way to go Zala, nice job leveling up your awkward level. We had an awkward silence for a minute, the good thing about this is Cagali's no longer frowning, she's actually grinning with her face as red as the dress as she wore last night. "Tomato face" Cagali whispered as she was pointing to my face, not noticing that I was already blushing. We let out a good dose of laughter afterwards. "So, do you want me to help you in bringing your stuff to your room?" I asked her. "Yes please, it would be a big help." Cagali replied as she grabbed my hand and dragged me outside.

We finally reached the outside of our house, and I already found Kira carrying their stuff. "Morning Sleepyhead!" Kira stated with a smile on his face. "Morning Kira!" I replied as I helped him carry his bag. It took us nearly three hours to carry all of Kira and Cagali's stuff, not to mention a lot of jokes along the way, there was a time when Kira poked me in the back while I was walking, carrying a box full of books, and surprisingly, while I was carrying another set of boxes, Cagali decided to have a litte Piggyback ride. It was a bit annoying at first, but I got used to it in a matter of minutes, I've already felt comfortable being with the two of them.

Finally, we were up to just one more box left. "Wow, I can't believe it, we're done!" I started as I stretched. "Hey, can you guys take care of that last box for me? I'll be buying a little snack for the three of us. Would Pizza be fine? there's a Pizza Parlor down the road and I can order one." Kira suggested. "Sure brother, that would be awesome!" Cagali smiled, her tomboyish attitude still showing. Kira then went away to buy some pizza, leaving me and Cagali to carry the last box. "Alright, let's get this one done!" I told Cagali as I stretched. She nodded in agreement and carried the large box with me. After carrying the large box and placed it on where it needs to be placed, we were finally done. "Hey Athrun, want some water?" Cagali asked as she was panting because of tiredness. "Sure, no problem, want me to get some for you?" I replied. "No, it's fine, I'll get one for us" she smiled as she walked to their kitchen.

It's been 3 minutes already and I've been hearing Cagali's voice complaining that there's no water. Finally, she came out of the kitchen, running. What she didn't notice is that there was a banana peel on the floor which happened to be a few inches ahead of me. She slipped on the banana peel. (curse you banana peel!) and landed on top of me. So our lips were a few inches away from touching, I can feel the warmth of her breath flowing though my face and I can almost touch her slim body. Both of us were on a state of shock as the level of awkwardness increased by 9000. What the heck is going on with me, I wonder what she's thinking right now. Just when I thought I was about to kiss her, the door of their house opened, Kira's slowly entered the house. Cagali's not getting up, she's just staring at me, frozen with her eyes fixed on mine! I need to stand up and get up before his brother omnislashes me to pieces!


End file.
